


Once In a Blue Moon

by Stylincaged



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Dogs, Established Relationship, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 08:34:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11551476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stylincaged/pseuds/Stylincaged
Summary: Phil whined “Why not?” and Dan couldn’t believe this man was genuinely upset over the fact that he didn’t like the name Olga. Olga.“We might as well permanently have her walk around with a sign that says My Dads Hate Me in big bold letters.” he jabbed. Cheryl couldn’t contain her laugh anymore at that one as she watched the exchange.Phil shook his head while jokingly pouting “Alright fine.”Eventually, they had agreed on Moon, whilst watching old episodes of Sailor Moon, both thinking that it was pretty, and not at all cliche for a dog. “Of course we named our dog after an anime” said Dan, chuckling.orThe one where Dan and Phil finally get a dog.





	Once In a Blue Moon

The first thing Dan noticed when they looked around was that there weren’t, in fact, any shibes.

“We have to leave Phil” Dan exclaimed with wide eyes

Phil rolled his eyes at his ridiculousness “Dan, we’re not leaving.”

Dan huffed in the most exaggerated way he could muster and jokingly pretended to be upset for about five minutes, before he broke character and giggled at himself. He wasn’t really upset about it. Dan isn’t stupid, he realizes the meme, and he’d have to watch the jabs from his audience that he’d inevitably had to endure, but in all honesty, he didn’t care what dog he and Phil ended up with. Why would he? He knew whatever kind they would end up having, he would love it all the same. Besides, they were adopting from a rescue center, and despite claiming to not have a soul on multiple occasions within various tweets and videos, he did care about offering one of these innocent, deserving creatures a home.

They walked passed multiple pens, cooing at all the fluffy faces. Dan was never really the type of person to hold back when it came to dogs or other cute animals. He had a his baby voice on the whole time, not turning it off for any of them. They stopped in front of one pen that contained three identical-looking puppies. Now, mind you, Dan’s family dog back at home, Colin wasn’t small. He wasn’t huge, pretty average sized, but definitely not as small as the little four-legged rascals before him. He swears he’s never seen anything as small in his entire life, except for maybe chihuahuas, but these dogs were bigger than those. Dan glanced next to him and noticed that Phil’s face was one of sheer giddiness at the sight in front of him, almost child-like. Suddenly a worker at the shelter appeared in front of them.

“Hello, I see you’ve stumbled across our newest little babies.” she said, as she opened the pen and picked one up with ease. She stroked its tiny head and watched as the dog relaxed under her touch. The other two were barking, filled up with energy that any other puppy would contain, while the one in her arms was currently silent, not at all minding the constant noise coming from its brothers and or sisters. Dan knelt down to pet one, and found that it was unsurprisingly very easy to pick it up.

“What breed is this?” asked Phil, smiling widely

“Bailey, along with her brother and sister are all Cocker-Spaniel and Shih tzu mixes.” she said, stroking Bailey’s fur. It was a beautiful light brown with patches of darker, closer to black fur around her big ears, while along her stomach, the underside of her mouth, and paws were all white. “Would you like to hold her?” she asked Phil.

“Of course!”

Phil held her in his arms, them totally engulfing the tiny animal with his gigantic limbs, and he cooed some more. Dan, having set down the other dog already, stood next to him and patted her head.

“I could cry with how cute she is” Dan faked sobbed to prove his point and Phil ignored him, completely engrossed. The girl chuckled.

“Yes! Bailey loves cuddles!” she said, making both men very happy. “She’s about two months old, she’s already had her vaccines and everything. She’s quiet a lot of the time but does bark when she needs something or when she’s playing.”

“Where’d she come from?” Phil asked

“We rescued her from the south. Her mother was found stranded and chained, and gave birth to multiple puppies, but we rescued her and took care of them.” she stopped smiling a little bit when she mentioned the last part of her explanation, but quickly shook it off.

Dan and Phil frowned at that story. They looked at each other, and had a silent conversation with their eyes. They both knew it. Everything fit! They both knew that they couldn’t have a dog that was too noisy, for they couldn’t get (or rather were terrified of getting) noise complaints from the neighbors, seeing as they’ve just moved in. Not to mention the fact that she was absolutely adorable. They told all this to the worker, who they found out, her name was Cheryl. She clapped her hands in excitement.

“I’m so glad you both love her!”

Phil then glanced down at the puppies at his feet. “What about these two?” he asked dejectedly. Before, he could get any ideas about adding another one, Dan glared at him subtly, knowing that it was hard enough to convince their landlord to let them have one dog, and that there was no way in hell he was going to allow them two. With that hefty look sent his way, Phil immediately closed his mouth.

“Brock and Lucy have both already been adopted by different families.” she stated with a shrug. They both nodded and after a few seconds, during a second silent conversation that no other person outside their dynamic would be able to understand, they both looked to her and smiled.

“She’s perfect”

 

When he heard steps coming up the stairs he knew it was time. For the past hour or so Dan had spent his time trying to contain his ever growing excitement along with some nervousness that was swirling around in his stomach, making him feel like projectile vomiting at any moment in time. He was gritting his teeth and his left leg was continuously bouncing, creating a soft patter sound against the floor. Curse their apartment and their giant multitude of stairs that it contained, he thought to himself.

The thing was, after going through all the paperwork and paying the money, that they weren’t able to pick her up until two weeks later. Their trip to Florida for playlist live and the holiday with Phil’s family had postponed a few things. Including, their homecoming with Moon. Yes, they had renamed the dog. “Bailey is just such a normie dog name!” exclaimed Phil, at which Dan had snorted with laughter upon hearing.

“Okay, okay fine, I’ll play,” Dan said rolling his eyes after “what is it, Phil, that you suppose we should name our new dog?” he asked in his mocking tone that usually occurs when speaking to Phil

“Olga!”

At that, Dan actually was so taken aback for a second by the suggestion “...Really?” he asked in a condescending tone.

“What? It’s a good name!” Phil insisted. He’s an idiot. Dan’s in love with an idiot.

“We’re not naming our precious angel Olga, Phil”

Phil whined “Why not?” and Dan couldn’t believe this man was genuinely upset over the fact that he didn’t like the name Olga. Olga.

“We might as well permanently have her walk around with a sign that says My Dads Hate Me in big bold letters.” he jabbed. Cheryl couldn’t contain her laugh anymore at that one as she watched the exchange.

Phil shook his head while jokingly pouting “Alright fine.”

Eventually, they had agreed on Moon, whilst watching old episodes of Sailor Moon, both thinking that it was pretty, and not at all cliche for a dog. “Of course we named our dog after an anime” said Dan, chuckling.

He was now just waiting for the moment Phil came home. Postponing it had made Dan even more anxious. Dan would’ve gone with him but couldn’t be bothered to get up at eight to go pick her up. Curse him and his inability to get out bed at a decent time like a normal person. That morning, Phil just pecked him on the lips while Dan was still laying in bed and whispered “Go back to sleep love.” Dan had only been half awake and was already nodding off again.

Finally, the door burst open and in came Phil. There was a grin on his face, and a light sheen of sweat along his forehead, probably from the absolutely sweltering sun outside (the one which Dan was still surprised that England had even acquired in the first place), and Moon, encased in his arms. Immediately the biggest grin Dan had ever mustered appeared on his face. He then got up and walked over, swooping the puppy away from Phil’s arms, at which he pouted, but laughed.

“Welcome home, cutie!” he said in that high pitched voice that he usually spoke in when he was in an overwhelming or happy situation. He hugged her to his chest, feeling like he was never gonna let her go. The dog panted, happy to be in Dan’s arms and licked his face. He glanced over at Phil to see that he had a look of pure fondness on his face along with a smile.

It was just that the sight in front of Phil was so contrasting to the sarcastic, witty persona that he usually encompasses. Of course, that is without a doubt who Dan is, but to Phil, it was always nice to see this side of him. The side that no one else gets to see. Phil walked over so he was stood in front of Dan with the puppy, and placed a loving kiss on his forehead after brushing away some hair. Dan momentarily closed his eyes as it happened and smiled.

When he opened them he said “This is such a disgustingly adorable and domestic scene I’m about to throw up.”

Phil hit him in the arm.

 

The first few weeks with her were a little rough. Although, they were told that she was already trained a bit.

“What do you mean by a bit?” Dan had asked, narrowing his eyes at Cheryl.

“Well, she has been exposed to some training but she still has trouble remembering when she is supposed to bark in order to go to the bathroom and other things like that. I would just suggest, to make sure you get a routine down right away. Take her out at the same time each day, that will help her a lot.”

Let’s just say, they were still getting the hang of it. They realized early on that they had to take her out twice a day. They also both realized that it wasn’t going to be Dan who was going to do it in the morning.

“I’m not getting up at fucking 7 Phil” and Phil just sighed and kissed his cheek as he petted Moon’s fur. The man knew there was no winning this one. The things he did for love.

But while they did manage to take her out when necessary, there were a few… incidents.

One day they were both sitting on the floor, criss-crossed with Moon in between them. They were happily playing with her as she wagged her little tail. They had bought her a cute little chew toy that looked like a cartoon carrot, which was currently in her mouth and they both laughed, mildly amused as it made little squeaking sounds. Dan smiled and picked her up putting her on his stomach as he lay back, giggling. The dog crawled up his body, sniffing and licking his neck, which felt very ticklish to Dan. Phil laughed, scratching her head while Dan had formed crinkles near his eyes.

“Her tongue feels fucking weird.” he muses

Phil rolled his eyes “what did you expect a dog’s tongue to feel like? Velvet?”

“I don’t appreciate your tone, Philip”

Eventually Moon got bored of that and got off Dan’s chest. She lazed over to Phil, settling onto his lap instead and he stroked her back as she seemed to stretch a bit. Suddenly, it seemed that she got bored of that as well and hopped off his lap.

Moon started walking around the lounge trying to find something to do. When nothing was deemed entertaining, she proceeded to wander around to the kitchen. Dan and Phil were highly amused, but thought nothing of it, thinking there was nothing dangerous in the kitchen for her to play with. While Dan was still lying down, Phil leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips. Not wanting him to stop, Dan placed his hands on his cheeks, prompting Phil to place multiple more kisses on his face.

They laid there a few more moments, just wanting to enjoy the sweet moment between them, which was kind of a rare occurrence with Moon around now. They usually weren’t so touchy-feely, but this kind of want that wasn’t necessarily sexual had been building up for the past few days.

It was nice until Dan realized it had been five minutes and he could hear Moon barking in the kitchen. He gently pushed Phil off of him and stood up, frowning. He walked into the kitchen with Phil on his tail. When they walked in, the sight in front of them made both of them gasp, Dan, with his hand on his heart, and Phil, with his covering his mouth. It looked to them like Moon had knocked over one of Dan’s terrariums. The glass laid shattered on the floor along with the aesthetically decorated plant that was inside. Dan is left wondering how they didn’t hear the crash. Were they that far gone into their kissing session?

Not only that, but Phil’s pretty sure that’s a piece of dog poop on the kitchen floor. The puppy had just gone to the bathroom. In. Their kitchen.

“Moonie!” Phil exclaimed in an angry tone. “You’re supposed to tell us when you need to go out!”

“My succulents!” exclaimed Dan dejectedly, staring at the mess on the floor as if it would magically fix itself if he stared long enough.

Phil picked up the dog, intending to take her out in case she needed to go again. “Dan, can you please clean it up while I take her?” he asked, not looking at him. When the boy didn’t respond for a few seconds, Phil looked up to see that he was still staring at the pathetic green plants that lay on the floor. “Dan.”

“I just-” he started

“Let it go, love.”

“But it was doing so well.”

Phil pecked his nose “I’ll buy you a new one.”

Needless to say, Dan left all his plants in places way out of reach for the pup.

 

Dan had never been the one to train his family dog. His first dog went to obedience school, and Collin was already trained when they got him, though his parents did teach him a few tricks. Needless to say, Dan wasn’t exactly what you would call experience in this particular field.

“Sit. Sit. Sit!” Dan groaned as Moon managed to jump up and snatch the treat that he was holding out in his hand… without successfully sitting. Phil bit his lip as he watched from the doorway.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to-”

“Yes, yes, I fucking know I’m not supposed to give her the treat if she doesn’t do it.” Phil chuckled and shook his head. Dan had been trying to teach Moon some tricks, but has had no success. Phil wanted to help but Dan wouldn’t allow it, after having witnessed his attempted at getting Moon to roll over, which involved Phil giving up and physically taking the small dog’s body, and rolling her over himself. What a dork.

“Try holding the treat a little closer to her nose so she’ll be more inclined to look up.” Phil suggested. Dan raised a single eyebrow, but not because he thought it was stupid. Nope, it was the total opposite. The idea actually made sense to Dan. And so with a shrug, he did exactly what Phil had said and what do you know? The little pupper did it. As she looked up at the treat, her bottom eventually moved towards the ground until she was successfully sitting with the treat in her mouth.

 

Dan smiled with glee and clapped his hands. “Good girl!” he praised and rubbed her ear. He then turned to Phil and asked suspiciously “How did you know that?” though he has a feeling he already knows.

Phil shrugged “I’m just a knowledgeable person, you know?” he responded. Dan just silently narrowed his eyes at him. “...I googled it.”

“Yeah, I know you did.”

 

It was a Friday evening. Dan was sitting on the couch watching an anime while Phil’s head was resting on his lap as he scrolled through twitter on his laptop. Moon was currently taking a nap in her little bed next to the couch. By now, their subscribers know about Moon from the plethora of pictures posted by both partners. More Phil, than Dan to be honest. Their viewers have just been eating it up.

As the episode from Attack on Titans season 2 was coming to a close, Dan heard a buzz coming from his phone. He looked up and checked his phone, seeing that Louise had texted him. He smiled as he read the text.

You dork it’s been a whole month and you haven’t introduced me to your doggo yet! :(  
He bit his lip and looked down at Phil in his lap. He nudged him and Phil hummed without looking up.

“Yes, love?” he asked, eyes still glued to the screen. And Dan couldn’t help but smile a bit at the term of endearment. They really weren’t one of those disgustingly cute and affectionate couples, but he can never get tired of hearing Phil calling him that.

“We should invite Louise over tomorrow to meet Moon.” Dan said and Phil finally looked up.

“That’s a great idea, actually. We haven’t hung out with her in awhile.” Phil said. He sat up, and put his laptop in the coffee table. Moon sat up as well as she saw her dad get up. That’s sort of a thing she’s become accustomed to doing; following Dan and Phil around. Dan smiled as he noticed the little detail about her. He looked back down at his phone, and texted Louise back, telling her to come tomorrow. Louise responded with joy and an array of smiling emojis. She also responded with this:

Oh btw i’m bringing darcy along w me!!!! xx

And that’s exactly what she did. They next day, around lunch time, Dan and Phil were both doing their best to clean, Or rather, Dan was prompting Phil to clean because Dan had already cleaned his part. Dan relaxed in the sofa crease with Moon on his lap as Phil huffed and continued wiping the coffee table clean.

“Missed a spot.” Dan cheekily said and Phil stuck out his tongue in retaliation. Eventually Phil had finished and when he did, he sat down next to Dan with a relieved sigh, leaning his head back against the sofa. “That’s what you get for not cleaning earlier.” Dan teased. Dan was aware of how much of a little shit he’s currently being and honestly reveled in it. Phil pretended to glare at him and took Moon from Dan’s lap and onto his own.

Honestly, this dog was more like their child than anything. Their child, their baby, and none of them would have it any other way.

“She’s gonna be here in like ten minutes, Dan.” he said as Moon licked his arm and Dan hummed. Roughly ten minutes later, they heard Louise at the door. Dan grinned as he got up to open the door. It had been awhile since they’d seen her, after all.

“Your new place is massive!” Louise exclaimed when she walked in, Darcy following behind her with a hand gripping her mum’s pant-leg.

“We’ve noticed.” Dan said and chuckled. He almost forgot that along with meeting their dog for the first time, Louise also would be seeing their new apartment for the first time. Which, to Dan was a little crazy, since there was once a time where Louis would’ve been one of the first people to hear or see anything. Darcy peeked out from behind her mum and smiled.

“Where’s Moon?” asked Darcy in her adorable little voice. Both Dan and her mother cooed at her.

But Louise patted her shoulder “Now, Darcy! Say hello to your uncles first!” and Darcy brought a hand to her mouth, giggling.

“Sorry mummy!” she said and ran up to Dan to give him a hug. Dan grinned and bent down so he was at her height. “Hi, Uncle Dan!” she giggled and Dan chuckled.

“Hi, Darling how are you?” he asked in a soft voice that’s only ever been reserved for Darcy. He doesn’t really remember when the line between “Dan” and “Uncle Dan” had been crossed. All he knows is that he feels quite attached to the title and is glad that his friendship with Louise has allowed him to know this little girl.

“Good” she responded with a toothy smile “I can’t wait to see your puppy!” she said cutely.

“Well I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

Then, she spotted Phil over Dan’s shoulder, holding none other than said puppy..

“Doggy!” exclaimed Darcy happily and made grabby hands towards the small dog as she ran towards the other uncle. The small blonde child had an absolutely pure look of glee on her face. Phil crouched down as well, dog still in his hands. Darcy walked over to them, clapping her hands.

“Now Darcy,” Phil started, “Moonie is very small, so you’re gonna have to be a little bit gentle, alright?” he said, afraid that the hyper child might accidentally hurt her. Darcy’s eyes widened as she nodded her head excitedly. “She’s only a little baby, just like you once were.”

“Okay Uncle Phil” she uttered and Phil smiled. Darcy grinned again. She stepped forward and Phil slowly deposited the small dog in her hands. The girl let out a tiny squeal when Moon was in her hands and Dan laughed loudly. Louise quickly whipped out her phone to snap a photo of the precious moment.

Louise then crouched down next to her as Dan and Phil both stood up again. She put her hand out to pet her head, aw-ing at her big dark eyes and fluffy ears. “She is absolutely the cutest!” she said. Dan chuckled as Louise got that look in her eye that screamed I’m going to take your dog.

As Dan watched the pair in front of him, he couldn’t help but imagine the obvious fantasy that could sprout from this particular scene. Phil being the one crouched down next to a child that was their own, mouthing words of encouragement that Louise was currently doing with her daughter. “Good job sweetie, I think Moon really likes you!”

The thing is, every day that goes by, that fantasy is becoming less like fantasy, and more like a distant future. Phil’s already thirty, they’ve settled into a new house together, they’ve now adopted a dog for fucks sake! Dan is pretty sure that he isn’t the only one having these thoughts. He knows it. Marriage also doesn’t seem very far off for them, it’s very very inevitable.

The more he thinks and imagines it, the less scared of it he is. Dan is no longer that eighteen year old kid, naive and terrified of even the prospect of being with Phil. The kid who lacked so much confidence in himself, who never thought he was good enough to do anything. Dan has, dare he say it, matured. Over the years he’s learned so much about himself and what he now knows he can do. It makes him excited.

He and Phil, they’ve done many things together, unbelievable things. They’ve hosted a radio show, they’ve published a book, they’ve toured the world together and yet, out of all of those things, Dan doesn’t think they’d ever amount to the feeling of satisfaction he’s gonna get when he finally has a family with the man he’s been with for over eight years.

He looks at Phil and Phil looks at him. No amount of dog poo will ever make this not worth it. Dan thinks to himself. And in that moment, Dan’s pretty certain that Phil is thinking the same thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading! If you would like to, follow me on:
> 
> twitter - @roseboyhowell (twitter.com/roseboyhowell)  
> tumblr - avidgreyskies (avidgreyskies.tumblr.com)
> 
> But i'm mostly on twitter!


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